The third disk in the set is a romping, stomping live recording that has Willie and the band jamming though songs from his two previous albums - songs that would become staples of his live shows for years to come, such as “Whiskey River”. The live versions of some of the songs from Phases and Stages are stronger and have more of a drive live. A true treat is a medley of classics penned by Willie, including “Crazy”, and others, George Jones’ “She Thinks I Still Care.” Some bonus tracks include versions of “Shotgun Willie” and “Bloody Mary Morning” done with an electric guitar.

Each disk contain a certain amount of bonus materials, which are good to have and nice to listen and compare to the alternate versions of songs; Shotgun Willie and Live have the most interesting of this bonus material. Shotgun has outtakes of songs that did not make it to the original album, but that are still strong, such as the rocking “I Gotta Have Something I Ain’t Got” and the slow ballad “I’m So Ashamed.” While the bonus material for Phases and Stages consists of all alternate versions of songs from the album, which is all right, some only have slight differences. When this is done on expanded CDs, it’s a good idea but does go over better with the more hardcore fans of the artist. Don’t get me wrong here, because faced with the choice I’m buying the one with as much extras as possible; I’m just a nut like that.

Overall, this three-disk set is worth a good solid listen and is something that I do look forward to hearing over again a few times. Shotgun Willie and Live At the Opry are the two disks I dig the most here and would be more enjoyable to hear more than once in their entirety. This box is a must for Nelson fans and very interesting for those who want to get an example of how Willie became the outlaw he is respected as today.

Written by Fantasma el Rey